But since there are no clear rules on it at this time, its a bit of a self-policing thing with a fair amount of grey area. This is why for a while I was ranked as a C even though my w/kg was higher than 3.2 since my watts werent over 200. As such, we have agreed to pause this change while we develop tools that deliver greater transparency to Zwift racing while promoting wellness. 2 Likes _Jynxy_EVO (:)) October 1, 2021, 1:41pm #8 thxs mike, I still have no sprint kick so Im never winning anything anyway. Hes had to up his weight as he is only 35kg ( upped time 45kg) he but puts out 220watt so his ftp is 5.5-6w/kg in a race. How does being heavier help a cyclist? you may ask. I am a long time racer in NorCal and cheating is cheating. On one occasion I entered a flat race (Laguardia Loop) following my ZP category (class C), finished almost three minutes down (though since it was a small field I still got third place), and then was disqualified for averaging 3.6 w/kg and 206 watts. Sandbagging is pointless if winning means youre going to move up (unless you want to take 3 months off after your win. I am not in the least bit interested in competition cycling, so no point in doping in either direction as i would only be cheating myself. bottom line for me, its a virtual training world, a virtual hammer isnt the same as a real hammer. What you see a lot are riders who are (claiming) to be really light with decent but not exceptional watts. Garmin sets your zones based on your maximum heart rate, while Zwift defines it as 76 to 90 percent of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP), which is the highest power you can sustain for 20 . Exactly. If someone dopes so they do 4w/kg then they should be racing with other people who do 4w/kg. Totally agree with you. I think the main problem with women and weight on zwift is regular weightdoping, magnified probably by all the wonderful social stigmas and judgment surrounding womens bodies. He argues hes not gaining an advantage. As Zwift racer James Eastwood so aptly put it, The community dont want to see peoples weight they want fair racing.. What particularly annoys me is being beaten by light but moderately powerful riders doing individual time trials on flat courses. If thats the norm, then I really dont see theRead more . (and dont do organized rides for fairness) so I dont have resistance changes and sometimes zwift reports extraordinary power readings for a ride. IMHO, enforcing in-category entry for races will be a quick, easy and effective change. If I feel happy in my body thats the most important thing for me, and why I rarely weigh myself. it's a good training tool. Good question. No one is going to lose or gain 5kg overnight or shrink a 1cm. They are not, and never were, skill classes of any kind (ie. Taking that info away further depersonalizes the platform, and and may be fine in group rides, but it is a step closer to racing against bots. Nice work! Next up is the most finicky part of the process finding your Zwift ID in order to connect your accounts. One question I have struggled to answer though which maybe is not a consideration is that on the flat watts is what is required and I also have to push high wkg to stay with groups. Not knowing what to pick and with minutes until the my first race, I selected the C group and was thus filtered out of the Zwift Power race results when I then posted a 4.00w/kg over the 28 minute race. First, it shows that theyre listening to the community. Plus imagine how bigRead more . There was a problem. I guess I could play the same game and pretend to be 65kgs (350/65 = an impressive 5.38w/kg), This is where Zwifts scaling of CdA on height and weight gets out of whack with reality. See how you can support Zwift Insider! I am about to hit the four year mark on Zwift. Level 50. are clay hart and sally flynn still married; composite chart 12th house; tupperware party points; st francis of assisi school jobs Too heavy watts are up but watts per kilo goes down. thanks for the help with the graphs. Zwift posted a follow-up message on the forum, Zwift x UCI To Host Cycling Events for the Olympic Esports Series 2023, Race London ZRacing March Series Details, Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of March 4-5. Zwift power usually looks at numbers vs the category race he entered. Congratulations John on your retirement and Zwift is a great retirement present. Okay, I now see in ZP where it has my minimum racer category (B) in my profile based on my last race, so I can choose B or A going forward. But then you could have someone in the same age group who maxes out at 170. ur allowed +/- 5% weight for pro zwift races so +/- 0.5 kg is not going to make a difference :p. add weight if u want to stay in D. lower weight if u wanna move to C. up 2 u. Obviously, these are generally accepted rules in the Zwift Community. I just we had a better system than category limits, racing license anybody? I started zwifting about 2 1/2 months ago.I did the ftp test and put in the correct weight.Ive no idea how precise my trainer is tho.what i do know is,Ive managed to go from cat c to a. Current system means that heavy weight top of cat riders climb at the same speed as skinny guys with same wpk but can have 60% more power on the flats. Not sure why its hard for you to believe that there are a lot of riders under 70kgs. But It doesnt mean that that person is going to be the person riding the bike on the trainer during the race does it. Once I hit 185 its either sit up and catch my breath of fall of the bike. I am in the 5 percentile of height and weight at 52 and 130lb with my lowest weight of 118 lbs in my racing career. Im glad you wrote about this. Im new to Zwift and its racing and what I like notice is how well I do compared to theRead more , This is not just about cheating. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Many riders is talking about cheating, when someone enters a lower category but it's not, in my opinion. As we said in the first post, Assuming race organizers can access the data via ZwiftPower, and the site includes simple tools for spotting potential weight or height dopers (perhaps flagging those who made dramatic changes recently), then hiding weight and height data from the public should work swimmingly.. They do? Ive been on a mission to get back to my racing weight in 2020. However, I do understand Kens point. 2022 Race Like A Pro. Im the opposite. I am currently 145kg and have not experienced any bullying so far. While the benefits of being light fully kick in while climbing a mountain (as it is easier for smaller guys to achieve certain w/kg), the benefits of being a tall and strong guy dont fully apply in the flats. As a 59/60kg rider who always seems to have a higher w/kg than the people I finish around, Ive been curious about adding 50% to both my weight and http://ftp. As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Daniel also runs The Leadout newsletter and oversees How to Watch guides throughout the season. This would include preventing people from entering the wrong (too low) category, and multiple month suspensions (race events would not appear in that persons Zwift application event list, no ability to enter) for using a height or weight that cannot be verified, or miscalibration of a smart trainer. Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Mark Cavendish, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen. Why dont you start self-regulating then? yes, but you are missing my point. Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. A good portion of that weight difference is in the Hub's 10.3 . I do find it amazing, funny and sad that IRL at several Ironman events me, a C rider, beat many A riders in the cycling segment. As for the weight, I weight 190lbs, (86Ks) I put in 190lbs. I was wondering is it possible to get the graph at the bottom of the screen that shows youre power and other stuff on a normal ride and not doing a FTP test or workout. So I dont expect to be as competitive vs. a pure cyclist. nothing more. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Im not too concerned about weight doping really. While most Zwifters seemed to understand and even appreciate the intent behind the change, there was concern that removing this information would result in increased height/weight doping. It will not eliminate this behavior but the races will be much more realistic and enjoyable. Some of the reasons Ive never pushed as hard on a real ride include: Stopping / slowing for junctions Traffic / pedestrians / other hazards Appreciating the view No watt meter on my real bike I dont race in real life I dont do workouts in real life Changing wind Threat of a headwind on my home journey And the biggest: WantingRead more , Agree with the above. The Forerunner 265 series watches have become Garmin's lowest-priced AMOLED display endurance sports-focused watch, coming in at roughly half the price of the Garmin Epix series launched a year ago - but here with full multiband GNSS support on all Forerunner 265 units, while also adding in Training Readiness - a major Garmin endurance sports focused feature. I may try it just to see what difference it makes. Since strava is all that matters of course. I would suggest a free (for now) virtual race license that would outline racer behavior with consequences. My performance IRL then probably looks pale compared to when Im racing in Zwift, I use the same power meter on Zwift as I do outdoors and I only push it outdoors during FTP tests and during closed road events (i.e. To move up to the next rank, ZwiftPower will take 95 per cent of your 20-minute average w/kg figure from your previous three races. However, I have a lighter and faster son that smokes me head to head. Best turbo trainers: Smart trainers to improve your indoor cycling experience There are two ways to do this. I now know of over 20 category D zwift users that have said theyre not going to bother with the Zwift races anymore. Food for thought. There is no disqualification for going over your w/kg limit. If it still doesn't work email zwiftpower@zwift.com and they should be able to sort. Nailed it. If they keep riders from competing in categories below their ranking, it will reduce the number of sandbaggers and cruisers. But your point is correct, if someone has a good string of results, upg them regardless of cat limits, and zwift needs to lock them out of cat in-game for it to be effective. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs. We may call it sandbagging or reversed weight doping but its legal . Even if Id ridden at threshold a little over 4 W/kg, I wouldnt have been able to hang onto the front in a D race, it seems. Case in point: in the A race I mentioned, only one rider was heavier than my 85kg dad bod. . Connecting to ZwiftPower Before you can start using ZwiftPower, you'll need to create an account. Why not ride to your strengths? The book Fast After 50 is a good read on how masters athletes can train more effectively. In some cases this even happens unfairly. Its only a bit of fun at my level (solid B with the odd podium). Everyone races at the same weight/height. You'll receive a four-digit code, which you'll then have to add to your last name back in your Zwift settings (you can change it back after the process is completed). Its ridiculous. Certainly it impacts the accuracy of race performance and results. Example: have you ever purposely avoided weighing yourself (especially you who have a Withings scale that automatically updates your Zwift weight) because you know youve put on a few pounds over the weekend? On Zwift Power categories have both a wattage requirement and a w/kg requirement. But theres one problem: this puts you into the B category, and you dont want to race the Bs. Bump your Zwift weight up to 84kg and even with your new and improved 260-watt FTP youre only at 3.1 w/kg! Im using a quarq crank power meter on my rock and roll while I save up for direct drive. All the emphasis on physical metrics makes sense for putting together how speed is calculated but not how one can race. It's also possible to filter results and data by categories, such as different age or power ranges. Races can use different schemes to categorise riders, but most of them use this scheme: You can, of course, progress through the ranks as you race. Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. I hope they learn from this and are more careful with things like that in the future. However, I definitely recommend entering some races. Using your Mac or PC, you can do it online on the Zwift website. Any thoughts on verifying? The categories are power to weight divisions. Im about to end up in the same situation (last races at 3.99, 3.98 and 3.99 W/kg) and Im not really worried about being promoted to A. Either these racers need to calibrate the trainer or they are sandbagging big time. Id be super interested in the timing you set your weight. Some people, I think, just have a lower HR. Why can we just all race together and the fastest person wins? This covers name changes as well as weight/height changes during an event. For the time being, height and weight will remain visible on ZwiftPower. If you're putting out enough power, then you can make your way up the ranks and keep on racing. I dont know why this is, but i dont care one bit if people are cheating. Updating Your Privacy Settings in Zwift Companion To update your default privacy settings, sign in to the Zwift Companion (ZC) app on your iOS or Andro. That was my first thought when a fellow Zwifter commented on my recent race, Somehow you always get your w/kg down. See https://zwiftinsider.com/how-does-zwift-calculate-my-speed/, I think if a racer doesnt want to cat up in order to keep winning in their current cat, she or he would likely just go the traditional sandbagging route (as others have suggested here). So its not Zwift putting you at a disadvantage but the situation itself, just as you would be in the real world in that situation. A thank you to Zwift HQ for listening to the feedback from the racing community and taking action. Racers who get top 1,2,3 more than a few times get upgraded period. I said if its not done during a competitive Zwift event, its not a problem. I would include chasing Strava Zwift KOMs as a competitive event (but I could see how what I said could be interpreted otherwise. SoggyAlbatross2. In fact, the only riders at or below my w/kg were minutes off the back. It does not stop cheating at all. IfRead more . My guess is that another reason some do it, is because it gives you points on zwiftpower, becauseRead more . You must be a much better person than me, because thats something I will Never make peace with. Now you'll have to head over to ZwiftPower.com and register there. The easiest way to qualify for a higher category is to cut weight. Because narcissistic people want to get validation from somewhere/someone that theyre special/different and if they cant get it legitimately theyll lie, cheat, and steal to do so. My IRL time and my Zwift time are almost the same. 2022 Primr RWB League - Cycling Ireland eRacing Winter League. Cheapest Zwift setup: Everything to help you onto Zwift for the first time Cyclingnews is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. But I will, and Ill get hammered and hopefully improve. It all has to do with the way Zwifts racing categories work. In the many B races i have done it was more fun because i was competitive. Race them if you want, but Rides like Tour de Zwift are not based on rider category, they are based on distance. As long as youre being honest with yourself I wouldnt worry about it too much. Im more concerned about the guy who finished 5th with 144bpm. There is no cat C rider at 58kg who has a hope in hell of beating me in any race. In fact, if in a long ride your weight could change by more than 1kg over the course of that one ride!!! The six-digit number highlighted in bold will be your Zwift ID. If the categories are split using purely w/kg a lighter rider doesnt have any advantage up the climbs at all. Look at ZP results. Someone with my FTP should be CAT B, regardless of weight. If you need to cheat to get the results you want then why even bother. We can name and shame these few. So what! But it highlights a bigger problem, and that is the fundamental flaw of using watts per kilo for race categorization. the lighter rider has to ride much harder to stay in the groups with a few big guys cruising along. When I go outdoors I go on a trail bike and bring a backpack full of food and drink for a several hours ride. Hopefully when it comes time to hide height and weight from public view on ZwiftPower, Zwift will have some really useful tools in place which help race organizers do their jobs more quickly and effectively, while promoting wellness in the racing community. With Zwift control is difficult (in getting Zwifters to enter their accurate) wait. Keep answering that question and youll keep most people on side. Not everyone has the same HRmax. Context, Tim, context! Honest mistake on my part and one I wont make again, so fair enough to be filtered outRead more , Related (and apologies if the answer is obvious but Ive only done one Zwift race), really what is the point of the categories? As Ive posted elsewhere, I like having weight available at my fingertips so I can use it to plan the TTT rotation (I like going heavy/light/heavy/light to avoid the big guys pulling away on flats/descents or the little guys pulling away on climbs, plus one category of rider tends to get exhausted on any given route if I plan my pull times incorrectly, so its nice not having 2 people in a row suddenly need to skip a pull). Introducing a horrible measure that addresses a problem that doesnt exist, and subsequently retracting it following mass protest is not exactly what I would call revolutionary change. It doesnt appear that people are abiding by the categories. It all has to do with the way Zwift's racing categories work. If its not done during a competitive Zwift event, I dont see it as a problem. Whilst this might be the case, as Eric implies in flat races light weight riders have to work harder to stay in touch with the heavier riders in the bunch. Hi Using HRM is difficult as well as you max HRM changes with age mine is 159 flat out but I am over 60. If I get down to 52 kilos I can climb well but my sprinting is terrible. If you're on Zwift and planning to get racing, then signing up to the third-party app ZwiftPower (opens in new tab) is an essential step. No race Chester worth their salt pops in and changed weight ahead of a race, what they do is post the wrong weight and leave it there. The 33-pound Hub is 14 pounds lighter than the 47-pound Wahoo Kickr, even though the two trainers are almost exactly the same size. Id never do this as my Zwift Power is an accurate log of weight and power but it does make me wonder how much easier itd be to be bigger. What if you are super committed and gain the weight in real life just so you can stay in the category , Excellent posts on perhaps the most serious non-hardware problem in Zwift right now. Or are you looking for a participation trophy on every race as well? My 3.9w/kg (a new PR!) As far as my weight goes the only thing I care about is being as accurate as I can to get accurate results. This raised concerns within the Zwift Racing Community regarding fairness in racing. People with eating disorders, or a proclivity toward extreme dieting. this is how it is in real life , big ian stannard putting in hard fast miles on the front for (was) team sky , while all the small guys tuck in the peloton getting drafted along saving energy for later on in the race , because they can`t compete on the flat with the big boys . I havent even used my road bike outdoors since 2012. This calculates that this heavy rider would take 23:14 to do the distance a justRead more , Everyone has a sweet spot for weight. Thats why there are no top 40 Cat C riders in 70-75Kg range. ZwiftPower use 95% of your best 20 minutes during the whole race, so it does not matter if the race is 21 min or 3 hours, you will still be categorized the same way. Thats the graph. Well Eric, my weight is plummeting, and Ill probably be taking a break from Zwift over the summer, so Im sure the upgrade is coming very soon!!! Among the communicated changes were plans to hide the visibility of height and weight from ZwiftPower in an effort to encourage individual health and wellness. Great article, Eric. I completely missed these as I reinvented the wheel, trying to stir up the hornets nest on the Zwift forums the other day. I have just accepted that at my height I will always be heavier than the average cyclist. why because of weight, not power. Current category system simply allows very fast but heavy riders to race in categories lower than their actual abilities. This isnt IRL racing it is e-racing. Exactly, although As arent that regulated, unless you hit the premier class, which is a very small section of A riders. My HR numbers are almost identical to yours. But youre not affecting anyone elses experience. If someone on zwift holds an avg power at a given heart rate, then goes out on the road and holds that same heart rate but cannot sustain even close to that power, I am sorry, but that isnt physiology; that is hardware. Similar to the announcement of the European Super League in soccer, Zwift failed to read the room. Im quite heavy, at about 85kgs, but also 183cms tall (and 52 years old). Zwift now allows for hiding Zwift automatically connects If you don't own power meter pedals, Zwift's non-contract pricing for a Zwift cycling membership is $15 . Gain a few (virtual) pounds. Taking weight out of the equation you could just make everyones avatar moving forward by holding down the up arrow on their keyboard. On the other hand, I am extremely anti-weight doping and agree with the post pointing out there is no incentive or even reason to be heavier. .Personally I one of the outliers on height and weight. Although does WTRL encourage reverse weight doping? You'll receive a four-digit code, which you'll then have to add to your. This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. I dont really race so I am OK and any workouts are harder this way. Or theyll ride races 1-2 categories below their actual W/kg so they can still win and feel like that theyre legends. Yes, smaller riders have less frontal area, but the difference in CdA isnt that much. The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! That is pretty low compared to most people on zwiftpower. I disagree with you on this point. It lets Zwift racers and race organisers track results and check out all the details of the races they've participated in, as well as monitoring and analysing their data. In spectacular and shocking fashion. Zwift is great just to ride around and it has lots of good training sessions which you can do. What is that!?! In fact, you can change a workout on Zwift about as fast as you can U-turn a bicycle on a real hill. Bikecalculator suggests not Go to http://bikecalculator.com/ enter an 85kg rider, riding on the drops for 16.2kms (ie an ITT) leaving all else unchanged. I don't think you can do it from the game itself. I did on one and second on the other. How do you actually update your weight on ZP?? The categorization system is, like you say, fundamentally flawed. When a rider can change categories by modifying their virtual body weight, thats an issue. stop worrying about whatRead more . Do you believe weight doping (reverse or otherwise) is a big problem in Zwift racing, and if so, what can be done about it? His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40. look at the article. Why no monitoring on this? Simply put, the system cannot measure weight it can only measure power, so for racing, peoples weight should be disregarded by that I mean, just as everyone in a zwift academy race has the same bike, they should be given the same weight , then it is a race based on FTP banded categories with point based promotion. Why not only require weight and height for entry to A and B races? I have heard women admit on social rides that their zwift weight is their goal weightRead more . What stone have you been living under? Secondly, Zwifts statement says they agree there is a need for tools that deliver greater transparency to Zwift racing. Thats good to see, and we completely agree! Why try to force IRL parameters that can not be enforced. (Image credit: George Marshall / Zwift) The first thing you notice when the flag drops, is Zwift racing is so much harder than your run of the mill bike race . Had assumed I just rode inefficiently. Thank you for signing up to The Pick. Are you efficient, or just heavy? Keep writing this sort of thing. if someone is entering a fake weight on their Zwift profile, the only person they're cheating is themselves, cos they're going to get destroyed out on the roads where it really matters. I think that point based system is an improvement, but it doesnt address the weight issue. As others have said, your higher weight helps on flat courses. Yes, but hopefully the system would be designed so, if drop a category then begin doing well, you get upgraded again! I put my real weight 95% of the time. It this fair? Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs. The race I did had all categories racing together with a mass start, so the categories felt arbitrary as my place was not within my chosen category but across the whole field anyway. Click on the Settings button and you'll find the Trainer Difficulty slider. It impacts the Group Rides and as you said the performance statistics individually. Bath (better than any bike upgrade i could afford) Yes its great to win,but as long as you improve yourself who cares what anyone else does.You will always get cheaters,dodgy equipment and so on so just enjoyRead more . I may of course be wrong, and these are all true weights, but Id be very surprised if that were the case, in the races where this matters, riders have to submit a private youtube weigh-in video <2 hrs before the race. Especially for the C and D groups but even for the Bs albeit to a lesser degree. ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. Im a heavy rider at 102kgs and 193cm tall I once reverse doped my weight at the top of the radio tower to try and achieve the 100km/HR badge It had the opposite effect in that I was actually slower than when descending at my actual weight lol I dont race other than against myself so Ive never weight doped as such My observations recently however have created an awareness of how many stick insects ride bikes on zwift . I just got upgraded to CAT A according to zwiftpower. Well, its adding weight to gain an advantage. I think with a results based system would help as it would the sandbaggers, but it wont eliminate the weight cheats entirely, those that just want to gain a little more w/kg by losing a few virtual pounds. Since we know that lighter weight=higher virtual speed, this is a very easy way to cheat the system on Zwift. Just sign up for A races from now on.
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